Enforcement Fees

Permit and Request Fees

Permit and Request fees are cost-recovery fees for administering the Industrial Pretreatment Program. Permit fees are based on permit type. Significant Industrial User (SIU) status, reporting frequency, and annual volume of wastewater. Permit fees are paid annually. The initial Liquid Waste Hauler and Special Discharge permit fee are required at the time of permit application.

*Service Area means “Metropolitan Area” as defined in the Waste Discharge Rules. It is the area over which the Metropolitan Council has jurisdiction and includes Anoka, Carver, Dakota (excluding Northfield), Hennepin (excluding Hanover), Ramsey, Scott (excluding New Prague) and Washington Counties.

Production-Based Strength Charge

Microbreweries on General Permit pay a production-based change using typical COD and TSS concentrations for producing beer. Any microbrewery can instead opt to sample its wastewater and pay the associated strength charge.

Permit Type

2019 Rate

Microbrewery and Brewpub General Permits

$0.762 per barrel of beer produced

Load Charges

Load Charges for hauled waste combine a strength charge, facilities, and volume component. The volume component is based on the MCES municipal wastewater rate that connected users pay through their communities.

*Hauled Industrial Waste and Out-of-Service Area flammable and sand trap waste loads must be approved by the MCES Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention Section prior to discharge and transported to the Metropolitan Liquid Waste Receiving facility located in St. Paul.

Sewer Availability Charge (SAC)

SAC is a charge to customer communities served by the Metropolitan Disposal System (MDS) for each new connection or increase in capacity demand to the MDS. All about SAC.

2019 SAC Rate

$2,485 / SAC unit (1 SAC unit- 274 gallons per day)

Industrial Capacity Charge (ICC)

ICC is a fee charged directly to permitted industrial users for discharge volumes exceeding their facility's SAC baseline threshold during a reporting period. Paying ICC does not increase a facility's SAC baseline. Industries have the option of paying SAC in lieu of ICC, which will increase their baseline. See the Industrial SAC/ICC fact sheet for more information.

2019 ICC Rate

$2,10/1,000 gallons discharged over the SAC baseline threshold during a reporting period

Enforcement Fees

Notice of Violation (NOV)

An NOV is a written notification stating that MCES considers a user of the MDS to be in noncompliance with the MCES Waste Discharge Rules or conditions in the Industrial Discharge Permit.

Discharge NOV Fee

The cost recovery fee for a discharge NOV is $200.

Administrative NOV Fee

The cost-recovery fee for an administrative NOV is $150.

Self-Monitoring Report (SMR) Late Fees

Submitting an SMR late delays invoicing for strength charges and critical data collection. Additional administrative late fees are charged that increase with the frequency and duration of a calendar year as follows.

Days Late

1-30 Days

31-60 Days

61-90 Days

Subtotal

1st Late Report

$150

$150

$150

$450

2nd Late Report

$150

$200

$250

$600

3rd Late Report

$150

$250

$300

$700

4th Late Report

$150

$300

$350

$800

Order to Appear (OTA) Fee

An OTA is a formal order to a specific representative of an industrial user to appear before MCES personnel for purposes of showing cause why MCES should not proceed to modify, suspend, or revoke the industrial user's Industrial Discharge Permit.